Fullmetal and the Red Water Alchemist
by oohmoe
Summary: Ed and Al get a new lead on a way to get their bodies back, a young girl that had escaped from Lab 5. Ed can't decide if she's friend or foe. Neither can she. Rated M for later chapters.
1. A New Lead

"Another sunny day in Central, huh Al?" A miffed Edward Elric sighed as he kicked up the dust gathering in the road "It hasn't rained in weeks! I thought we left the East for a reason.." Ed was right, Central had fallen under a horrible dry spell turning the city into an oven. With no rain, the residents were also under strict water conservation protocol. Ed lifted his right arm to wipe the sweat from his brow, although his metal appendage was covered by his white glove, the emanating heat from the metal made him even hotter.

"Well, I do wish I could feel the heat brother. As gross as it sounds, I'd like to sweat again." Al responded with his familiar metal ringing. Ed lowered his head, the guilt washed over him once again. He knew he couldn't let Al see this so he beamed that award winning smile at his brother instead, even if it was half-empty.

"Don't you worry, we'll have you back in that body of yours in no time! Then you can stink all you want!" Al smiled, his brother always knew how to cheer him up.

"Do you really think the Colonel found a good lead for us brother? To get our bodies back?" Al asked as they walked under the hot sun, the nearing headquarters.

"Well I sure hope so, that jerk hasn't turned up anything good in months!" Ed humphed as the brothers ascended the stairs in to central headquarters, "Just dead end after dead end, maybe that head of his is empty after all."

"AH THE ELRIC BROTHERS HOW HAPPY I AM TO SEE YOU!" The Strongarm Alchemist popped out from a nearby building immediately cutting off the brothers.

_Oh great the great muscley pain in my ass.._ "Hi major." Ed scoffed and crossed his arms. It was too hot to deal with this meat head.

"What brings you to central my dear boys?" the Major asked with that infamous twinkle.

"We're just here to the Colonel, Major." answered Al, anything to get out of the conversation before Major takes his shirt off. "Do you know if he's in?"

"OH WHY YES WHY DON'T YOU LET ME ESCORT YOU YOUNG ELRIC BROTHERS?"

"OH that's okay Maj-AHH HEY LET ME DOWN!" cried the quite helpless Ed as Armstrong flung the boy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Well, more like a sack of potato chips.

As the interesting crowd entered Colonel Mustangs office, Major quickly dropped Ed on his butt and saluted to his superior, "The Elric Brothers, sir!"

"I can see that Major, you are dismissed." Roy replied in his usual smug tone.

"Sir!" with that the Major closed the door curtly leaving the boys alone with the Colonel.

"I trust you got my message?" Roy leaned forward in his chair, perching his elbows on his desk, his head carefully posed over his interlaced fingers. Around him were stacks and stacks of papers on his desk as well as on the floor beside him. Had the Colonel actually been doing paperwork?

"Why else would we be here? Certainly not to visit." retorted Ed, flopping down on the couch positioned in the middle of Mustangs office.

"Brother.."Al sighed, the conversation has barely started and they are already at each others throats. "We did Colonel, does it sound promising?" Sitting down next to his brother.

"I can't say so or not yet Alphonse. You boys will have to figure that out yourselves. My only request before I hand you over this information is that you bring back what information you find, or who you find, back to me. Speak of it to no one but myself, and my team. Got it?" The usual smirk dropped off of Mustang's handsome face as he said this. His eyes stared into Ed's golden ones, reiterating how serious he was.

"Yeah, yeah sure thing Colonel." Ed replied casually, but his mind lingered on what Mustang had said, _who we find_?

"After going through several restricted files, mainly to do with Lab 5," both of the brothers sat up in there seats once they heard this, "the same name kept turning up. I have done extensive research in the military database for this person but only one thing comes up. A child, left in the military's care after their parents died on duty. That was 12 years ago."

"A kid? Left in the care of the military? Can they really do that?" Al asked with genuine concern.

"I suppose, there's no rules against it. I did further research on this child but her records just stop about 6 or 7 years ago. No death certificate, no forward address, it's just like she disappeared."

"So what does this have to do with us?"

"Well, about 6 or 7 years ago a girls name started appearing in Lab 5 case files. It appears she was a subject there and escaped."

"Another chimera do you think?" Al shuddered at the thought of the chimeras he had seen die, and the horrors of making one..

"No, I don't think she's a chimera Alphonse. There seems to be proof that she is an alchemist. A powerful one at that. Her name is Freia Lockwood, she should be around 17 now."

"What a funny name." Fullmetal scoffed.

"Well do you want the details or not Fullmetal?"

"Yeah, yeah where can we find this Leya?"

"Freia, idiot."

"Idiot! Pompous a-" Edward makes a full lunge at Mustang but Al grabs on to his short tempered brothers shoulder.

"Now, now brother the Colonel was kind enough to gather this information from us wasn't he?"

Mustang smirked, "Your brothers right, y'know maybe Al is the bigger one after all."

"WHY YOU!" Al kept holding on to his brother tightly, the Colonel sure did know all the right buttons to push when it came to his brother. Ed scrambled to get away from Al furiously shaking his fist at Roy.

After having a nice chuckle, Mustang stood up from behind his desk and approached the dynamic duo.

"Here are your case files, you will find her in the East. I'm sure of it."

Ed scoffed, "Yeah thanks Colonel. Wait a second, before you told us all this you said you wanted us to bring back any information we find, or who we find back to you."

"That's right."

"Does that mean we bring back the girl too?"

"Hah, that is if you can Fullmetal. But yes, that is what I mean. This girl obviously knows a lot, Edward and has probably seen too much. Be careful."

"Wait a second, the East? Man, that dry hell-hole of a place is nothing but trouble." Ed shuddered at the thought of all that sand. It was hot enough here in Central!

"And yet the perfect place to hide, wouldn't you say?" The Colonel extended the files to the boys and gave them a knowing nod.

With that Ed snatched the files from the Colonel's hands and turned on his heel straight out the door.

"Come on Al! We got a girl to catch!"

Roy sat back behind his desk and stared down at the case files he had collected. Lockwood.. Where had he heard that name before? He rubbed his temples at the thought, he hoped that he had not sent the youngest State Alchemist in history in a death trap.


	2. Youswell

Ed and Al sat across from eachother on the train, the last one leaving Central until the weekend. It felt like they had just come back from the East, but Ed knew the Colonel was right about it being the perfect place to hide. The East was barren, as desperate as the people who inhabited it. With so many lost souls wandering around, who could differentiate between them?

"Brother, you're awfully quiet." Ed's head snapped out of his thoughts and met the gaze of his younger brother.

"Sorry Al, my minds trying to wrap itself around this case. Seems so 'mysterious'." Ed wiggled his fingers in playful way at Al to excentuate the "mystery".

Al laughed at his brother, but he knew that Ed was worried about it. So many times have the boys been in over their heads with this missions, ending up in very compromising positions. This one somehow seemed more omnious than the others. Ed sensed the tension rising between the brothers again and pulled out the files he had tucked underneath his arm.

"Well, maybe these files can give us a better clue to what we're up against." Ed flipped through the papers with eager eyes only to be met with disapointment. "Really? This is all we have to work with?" Ed slumped back on the bench extending the file towards Al.

"Wow, this really is all Colonel could find about her?" Al looked down on the nearly blank piece of paper:

**CASE FILE 800345**

**Name: **_Freia Lockwood_

**Hair Color: **_Black_

**Eye Color: **_?_

**Age: **_17 (?)_

**Parents: **_Peter and Anouk Lockwood, Deceased_

**Place of Birth: **_?_

**Residence: **_?_

**Threat Level: **_Red - Very High_

**Additional Information: **_Alchemist, reported to have tattoo like markings, a formidable foe._

"Tattoo like markings? Do you think they're like Scars?" Al looked at his brother for some information.

"I doubt it, if she's from Lab 5 and raised by the military, why would she have Ishvalan markings?" It almost seemed like the more they knew the more confused they were.

The boys sat back in silence once again, their minds trying to grasp what was lying ahead of them. They were fast approaching their destination, the very last stop the train would make, for past there was pure harsh desert. They were headed to Youswell, a barren town that the boys had visited before when they were younger, Ed a fresh State Alchemist.

"You remember Yoki, Al?" Ed laughed at the memory of the despicable man.

"Oh of course. How could I forget? Do you think the townsfolk will remember us?"

Ed stared out the window, he certainly hoped not. The East was unlike other places the boys visited. These people did not care about State certification, or about the famous Elric brothers. Why would they? The State allowed them to live in these shanty towns run by crooks and theives.

"Well I guess we'll see for ourselves, Al." The train had reached it's destiniation. The boys could hear the cold steel of the train grinding to a halt and letting out an exasperated hiss of steam when it finally stopped. Descending from the train, the duo started towards the town.

"Why did you think to come here brother?"

"Well, the Colonel said she was probably in the East right? Well this town is as far east as they come before hitting the desert. Although this girl may be powerful, she's not invincable. She'll need a place to resupply nearby, making this the perfect place. No one will question another misplaced soul right?"

"They certainly questioned us Edward." Al recalled the time they visited the city before.

"Well that's because we walked in here all high and mighty, and well we do have a problem with blending in." Ed playfully knocked on Al's hollow chest. He had a point with that.

The boys continued into the town's center, looking desperately for a person, anyone. By the time they were in what appeared to be the town's square every door and shutter was closed and locked. Not a single soul was outside, Ed half expected a tumbleweed to roll by his feet in this ghost town.

"Maybe they do remember us.." Al looked down to his brother who was trying to think of something to do.

"We helped them didn't we? I don't know why they'd hide from us." Ed though a moment, "Al! Do you remember Halling?"

"The man you gave the deed to the town to? He ran the inn right?"

"Correct! I bet he would help us." Ed, with new found vigor in his step marched across town until he saw the familiar sign above a door that read "Inn". Fullmetal ran right up and starting banging on the shouting. Alphonse stood back shaking his head with his metal hand covering his 'face'.

"HALLING! HALLING! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Ed finally stopped banging and decided a softer approach after he got no response. "Halling, it's us, Edward and Alphonse Elric. We helped you all those years ago. We don't mean any harm we just need some information."

After a few silent moments, Ed could hear footsteps approach the door. The familiar face of Halling appeared through the crack of the door, his hand gestured for the boys to come in.

The inn was empty, the last time the boys had been there it was full of all the towns men laughing and bonding. Had this town gotten worse since the Elric's had been here?

"You'll have to excuse my rudeness, as well as the others. The East isn't a safe place right now. Well not that it ever was." Halling sat down and offered Ed a beer, Fullmetal accepted and sat across from the man.

"Why is that? I thought we had left you guys in better shape than before. Speaking of which.. Where's that little runt Khayal?" Ed smiled at the man, but the smile was not returned.

"Khayal is on an..errand. As for the rest of us well, with the military barely present anywhere near here bandits and raiders have begun to take over towns. We would have been too, but someone has been helping us." Ed and Al perked up in their seats, maybe Youswell was the perfect place to come afterall.

"Someone is helping you? That is a little vague Halling." Ed gave the man a skeptical look and leaned on his elbows, passively sipping the beer in his hand.

"Well, a few months ago a group of raiders came through here. They captured a few wives and daughters of the miners and threatened to take over the town. We were ready to surrender, none of us could stand to see anymore of us die. But right before we did a girl walked into town." Ed and Al quickly shot a look at eachother before looking back to Halling, their eyes begging for him to continue.

"Well, this girl.. she didn't seem any bit older than you two, but she approached us and asked to retreat into our houses and all would be well."

"Well did you?" Al asked barely able to take the anticipation.

"We were all skeptical at first, but her.. presence was powerful. Everyone locked themselves in their homes and stayed their until nightfall just as she instructed. When the sun set, all the kidnapped women returned to their homes completely unscathed. I asked many of them myself what had happened but none of them remembered a single thing. Since then, whenever the town is threated we all retreat into our homes and by nightfall it's like nothing ever happened."

Ed groaned, this all seemed too cliche mystery book to him. Atleast this was a strong lead, but he still was skeptical. "Did you see what she looked like?"

"Not, not really. Well I suppose since you know now, you should ask Khayal when he returns." Halling furrowed his brow out of concern before adding, "That girl, she left a letter on our doorstep asking to have Khayal and only Khayal bring her supplies once every week. I am smart enough not to ask him about her, but every week he comes back unharmed."

Al remembered Halling's brave son from their last visit. "When does he usually return?"

"Not until daybreak. You boys can have a room upstairs," He smirked at Ed, the first time he had smiled this entire time, "Free of charge this time."


	3. Khayal

Ed couldn't sleep that night, he lay awake in the room Halling had let them stay in, his back turned to Al. He didn't want him to worry about him not sleeping, but he just couldn't get in his mind around this whole situation. Mysterious girls, loss of memory, powerful 'presences'? It just didn't come together, there had to be a catch somewhere. Who was this girl? More importantly, what did she want with this town?

"Brother, are you awake?" The sound of Al's voice made Ed sit up with a start, he turned into the darkness until his eyes adjusted and he could see the frame of his younger brother.

"Yeah, I can't sleep. How did you know?" Ed rubbed the back of his head and smirked.

"You usually toss around a lot in your sleep, you've been perfectly still all night." Al stood up from his seat on the floor and sat at the end of Ed's bed.

"I just need information. Doesn't it all seem too.. too.. I don't know, cheesy?" Ed brought his left hand to the bridge of his nose and gave it a slight massage. All of this was making his brain hurt.

"Cheesy? What do you mean?"

"Well, like too cliche story book! Girl comes mysteriously and saves a town without even lifting a finger. Something fishy is going on around here and I'm going to find out what it is." Ed slammed his body back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "The sun should rise soon, and Khayal will be back."

"Didn't Halling say that he was "smart enough not to ask Khayal" about the girl?" Al got up and looked out the window, the first light of morning was beginning to show.

Ed thought for a moment, "I wonder what he meant by that. Do you think Khayal will answer our questions?"

"I hope so." The light broke into the Elric's room meaning the boy would be back any minute. Ed decided not to waste anymore time and began gathering all of his things.

Once they were prepared for the day, the boys moved downstairs eagerly waiting for Khayal's return. They noticed Halling was already sitting by the door staring out the window.

"Any sign of him yet?" Halling stiffened at the sound of Ed's voice but quickly slumped back in his chair before taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"Not yet, any second now."

Ed couldn't take the waiting and decided to sit on the front porch waiting for the boy. After only a matter of seconds, Khayal's frame came into view.

"KHAYAL!" Al yelled at the boy waving furiously. They could see the boy stop and cock his head to one side for a moment before dashing towards his home.

"EDWARD! ALPHONSE!" Khayal tackled Edward to the ground in a rib crushing hug.

"Hey you little squirt! You've grown since we've left!" Ed tried to squeeze himself out of the boy's grasp.

Khayal stood up and saluted the brothers, "I'm almost 12 years old now. Basically a man!"

Ed sniggered and ruffled the boys hair, he reminded him so much of a younger Edward Elric. "Well, come on let's go inside. Your dad is waiting for you, and we have some questions."

The three young men filed inside, Halling immediately swooped the boy into his arms and rubbed his stubble on Khayals soft face. "Dad! You're embarassing me!"

Ed laughed and stared at Khayal, he seemed perfectly fine. He half expected the boy to be tramuatized or with no memory but here he was, flexing and showing off to Alphonse who of course played along.

Halling turned to his son and put a hand on his shoulder, "The Elric's have a few questions for you. I will leave you _men_ to talk." He winked at his son and ascended the stairs to where his wife was sleeping.

Khayal sat down with his best serious man-talk face on. "What do you need to know my comrads?"

Ed laughed and sat down across from the boy, "We need to know about the girl who's been helping your town." Khayal's face changed immediately, like he was thinking of the right thing to say.

"What about her?"

"Do you know her name? What she looks like? Where did she come from?" Al shook his head at his over hasty brother.

"One at a time Edward."

"Right, well. Can you just tell us what you do know about her?" Ed smiled at the boy to encourage him.

"She said I was not to answer any questions about her, she said especially not to 'military dogs'." Ed winced at the insult, but hadn't given up yet.

"We're different from regular State Alchemist's, you know that Khayal. You know you can trust us. No harm will come to you," Ed studied the boys face before adding, "Or the girl."

Khayal sighed and looked to Al, who gave him a nod of approval. "She.. She's a nice lady!" Khayal blurted out, Ed simply replied with an eyebrow raise.

"She protects our town, doesn't she? And she chose me to bring her supplies, she has to be smart too!" He puffed up his chest with a look of pride on his face. "I told her I was gonna marry a girl like her one day. She's so pretty!"

Ed shot a look at Al and they both stared at Khayal, "What does she look like?" They both said in unison.

"Uhm.. well I don't see much of her when I visit. She stays in an abandoned mine outside of town. Whenever I come it's always very dark outside, but I know nothing bad will happen. She has very dark hair, like black silk! She wears a tattered cloak all the time that covers all of her body and most of her face, but last night.." Ed and Al were going to explode, this had to be the girl they were looking for. No mistake.

"What happened last night?" Ed asked over eagerly.

"I saw her eyes last night, and she.. touched my face." Khayal blushed a deep shade of red and clasped his cheek where she must of touched him.

Al thought a moment, "Her eyes? Were they unusual?" The case file didn't mention anything about her eyes.

"They were, almost see through. It looked like she was blind but I knew she wasn't. When she got close to my face I saw those funny circles Alphonse draws inside her eye. She looked so sad, Ed."

Ed furrowed his brow, funny circles that Alphonse draws..Transmutation circles. Inside of her eyes? This was just getting weirder. Al shot his brother a look and they both gave a nod.

"Where is this mine Khayal. We need to find her."

"You can't hurt her Ed! You have to promise!" Khayal stood up and grabbed fiercly onto Ed's sleeve.

"I promise, but I can't promise if she endangers us." Khayal nodded and retreated back to his seat.

"The mine is a two hour walk, she makes me come at night so it's cool. You can't go now Ed, you'll burn up!"

Ed sighed, "We have to. I need to know about this girl now. Today." With that he put on his white gloves laying on the table and stormed out the door.

"Brother.." Al sighed and began to take off after the hot-head, "Thank you so much for the information Khayal. I promise we'll be back soon!"

Khayal waved, and sat back down in the empty inn. His mind was filled with those mysterious eyes and that sad smile.


	4. Girl in the Desert

"Brother, we really should've listened to Khayal. Or atleast asked him for directions!" Al opened his chest plate and let all the sand pour out. He looked over at Edward who was sweating profusely with that stubborn look on his face. Ed pulled out his silver pocket watch and flipped it open.

"We've been walking for a little over two hours now it can't be far Al." Al shook his head and continued walking next to the firey Alchemist.

"How do we know we're even walking in the right direction?" Ed didn't dignify Al's question with an answer, he needed to find this mine and find it now.

"What are we going to do when we find her anyway brother?" Edward scowled at his younger brother and Al knew to shut up. The sun had gotten the best of Ed, Al could see the start of a sunburn on Edwards brow and the sweat dripping off of his handsome face. He knew that Ed wouldn't just give up but he had a feeling that this was a terrible idea. All they have heard is how dangerous this girl is and even if they do find her, Ed is too exhausted to fight her. Al knew it would have to be up to him.

"Hey Al, do you see that?" Ed squinted off in the distance, hoping what he saw wasn't some mirage.

"The tree? Yeah I do see it."

"I.. I suppose we can rest there for a while." Sighing in defeat, Ed made his way to the tree and slumped down laying his back against the tree's dry trunk.

"And people wonder why no one wants to come to the East." Wiping the sweat from his face, Ed closed his eyes trying to regain some composure. He had to make it through this. He thought back to his and the Colonel's conversation two days earlier.

_"Does that mean we bring back the girl too?"_

_"Hah, that is if you can Fullmetal. But yes, that is what I mean. This girl obviously knows a lot, Edward and has probably seen too much. Be careful."_

Ed shook his head to get the thoughts out, this was beginning to be too much. He leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes.

_"I told her I was going to marry a girl like her someday!"_

Oh Khayal, he may think he's a man but he sure does have a lot of growing up to do. Ed's mind drifted in an out of conciousness as his body cried out from dehydration and exhaustion. He was about to fall asleep when Al shook his shoulder with great urgency.

"Brother.. brother!" Al hissed into Ed's ear making Ed sit up straight, the blood flowed into his head making him dizzy. His vision blurred and he rubbed his eyes. When his vision finally cleared he saw a figure walking towards them.

"That has to be her brother." Al was right, the tattered cloak and the gloves that covered her body, and the black tendrils of hair falling underneath a hood.

"What should we do brother?" Ed shot Al a glare and pursed his lips together.

"Act cool, we got lost in the desert and need help. Got it?" Al nodded and Ed placed a hand on his shoulder and stood up, his knees shaking from exhaustion.

"Hey! Heey!" Ed cried and waved his hands towards the figure. The figure stopped and cocked her head to look at them before advancing. Ed's stomach was churning, Halling was right about this girl having a 'presence'. It was like an ominous cloud had entered over head, simply waiting to strike the brothers down.

The girl was around 20 feet away when she stopped. Ed and Al couldn't see her face but they could feel her eyes studying them. There was a long uncomfortable silence before Ed finally spoke,

"We got a lost a few hours ago, could you help us? My mouth feels like a desert!" The girl cocked her head to one side again before approaching a little closer. This made Ed nervous but he needed to maintain his cool. _Refugees, lost, need help, no affiliation with the military._

"The water is filthy here." Was all the girl said and threw a bag towards them. Ed opened it to find two unopened beer bottles, ice cold. He clicked off the top and chugged the first one feeling the cold liquid quench his sandy insides. With a sigh of relief he turned again to the girl.

"Who are you?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Her voice was cool and collected, like water falling over sandy rocks washing away any impurities. She kept at a safe distance eyeing the boys, but they still couldn't see her face, or really anything.

"Oh well, we're.. uhm. I'm.. Lee and this is my brother Fu!" Al looked at his brother and mentally slapped himself. Lee and Fu? Edward was the worst liar.

"Lee.. and Fu. How quaint. If you would like my help I will need the truth." Cooly, like babbling brook in the middle of the desert.

Ed cursed at himself, and stood up to his full height. "We know you helped that town, we just want information."

The girl did not move, not a single flinch. It made Edward more nervous.

"Information hmm?" The girl took a single step forward, "It seems like you already know too much."

Ed looked at Al and swallowed hard, this was not going well. Gaining his composure he finally decided to get to the point.

"Your name.. Your name is Freia isn't it. Freia Lockwood?" Ed could hear the girl hiss at the sound of her own name and take a defensive pose.

"Just who are you? Wandering the desert. Looking for me hmm?" Ed could feel the girls eyes studying him with intensity. "A silver pocket watch. You're military dogs." The girl seethed through clenched teeth. This was not good.

"We don't mean any harm, we just need information!" Al stood up next to his brother and stared at the girl.

"I will give nothing to the military." She spat at Ed's feet. "If it's a fight you want I will gladly give it to you."

Ed stiffened, he was exhausted and dehydrated, how could he fight this girl? Maybe intimidation? But he could hardly transmute anything in this bowl of sand. Clapping his hands together and making a knife of the end of his automail he took a defensive stance.

"No transmutation circles? Stylish." The girl grabbed the clasp of her cloak and threw it off. Underneath she wore black pants that had metal loops down the sides that exposed her skin. All over her body he saw transmutation circles, carved into her pale skin. Her eyes lifted and Ed could finally see her face. She was beautiful, like Khayal said. Almost too beautiful. Her eyes seemed so empty as they stared at the brothers. She closed her eyes and muttered under her breath, when her eyes opened transmutation circles appeared on her face, her eyes being in the center of the circles. Ed and Al gasped as the other circles began glowing on her body.

"No military dog will control me." Her words felt like poison. She jumped into the air, far higher than Ed could himself and she grabbed onto her ankles where two matching circles lay. Closing her eyes she focused her power and two lightening bolts shot from her knees destroying the tree behind the brothers. Ed's jaw dropped and he stared at the girl. He couldn't fight her, not when she had this much of an advantage.

"I just want to talk to you! I don't want to fight." Ed put his hands in the air.

"You will not take me back to the military. I will not be your weapon." She landed deftly on her feet with the grace of a cat. The transmutation circles around her eyes glowed fiercly. She studied the boys for a few more moments before the circles began to retreat back into her eyes.

"But that's not what you're here for is it."

"No, it's not. I swear. We just want to talk." Ed mentally cursed the Colonel and wondered if he knew about this.

"I can see you are not lying." Ed felt stripped naked by the girl's gaze and he blushed.

"You may follow me. Do not forget the other beer." Ed looked down at the bag she had earlier thrown to his feet. The beer was already warm and right before he reached down to grab it, it turned icy cold again. The girl had clasped the cloak around her again and extended a gloved hand to Edward.

"Yes, my name is Freia. It was before. I do not know if I am still that girl. You may call me that if you like. You are?" Her voice made Edward melt and her touch electrified him. He blushed and coyly responded, "Edward Elric."

"I'm Alphonse Elric, his younger brother." Ed had forgotten about his brother until that moment.

"Well then Elrics. Follow me." She jumped away from the boys with ninja like skill. "Don't dally."

Edward ran after the girl with Alphonse, wondering what the hell they had gotten themselves into.


	5. An Innocent Touch

"So how old are you?" Freia looked back at Ed slightly stunned by his question. The boys had been following her for a solid twenty minutes now, and it had been nothing but silence until the fiery blonde's question. She pursed her lips and thought for a moment. How old am I? When is my birthday? It was something the girl hadn't thought about for a long time.

"I.. I don't know Edward." She stared forward at the endless amount of sand infront of her but could still feel the alchemists gaze boring into her.

"Will you cut out all this mysterious shit? I just want to get to know you." Ed stopped walking and fumed at the slender girl in front of him. Al rubbed the back of his head and sighed. This was not going to turn out well. Freia turned on her heel and looked back to Ed. She raised her face so the blonde could stare straight into those icy eyes. Ed noticed their true color, it was a sort of misty steel blue, the transmutation circle a silver line against the blue. It gave her such a urethral look, such a contrast to the black wavy locks falling into her face. Edward blushed, feeling flustered at this girl he knew nothing about. She made him feel, something. It just made him feel on edge, like something was going to happen any second, or his body was just going to light on fire. The silence rung in the air until Freia's silky voice cut through it like knife.

"I haven't thought about something like that, in a long time Edward. I don't even remember when my birthday is." A cold empty laugh escaped her lips. "I suppose I can't be much older than you?" She turned around and began walking again.

Ed cursed at himself, he wasn't exactly surprised that she didn't know. He just wanted to sit down with her and talk; hear that voice trickle down his spine. The group grew silent for the rest of their trip, another 30 minutes or so until the old mine appeared. Freia had been staying in a first cavern of the mine, where it looked like the operation center once was. There was a large circular table in the center of room, 3 stools surrounding it. Freia struck a match and lit the oil lamp at the center of the table and two others that hung from adjacent walls. Ed noticed a dead fire pit with a knapsack next to it, it appeared that Freia had been here for quite a while.

"I have wood stored two caverns down, Alphonse is it? Would you mind grabbing it?" Al looked up and quickly stood up straight. He nodded curtly and started towards his destination. Freia unclasped her cloak and hung it on a hook on the stone wall. Ed inhaled sharply as he got a better look at the girls body. Her tank top showed her lean muscular body, under the glow of the oil lamp he could see the muscles rippling under her skin. The thing that really caught the young alchemist's attention was the transmutation circles all over the girls body. They were crudely carved into her tanned skin with jagged edges and looked extremely painful. Ed tried to count the number of them without letting her see him staring at her slender body.

The largest two were on the front of her chest and the middle of her back. The lines started above her shirt and then disappeared underneath. She had three down each arm, the side of her shoulder, her bicep and the underside of her forearm. As she took off her gloves, Ed saw the circles on her palms and the backs of her hands. Through the metal rings on her pants Fullmetal could see three more circles on the outsides of her thigh, knee, and calf. Ed immediately noticed how every circle had an identical one on the opposite side of her body. They looked so painful, was this what Lab 5 had done to her?

"I have twenty circles in all, if that's what you are wondering Edward. Excluding the pair in my eyes." Edward's head snapped up and met Freia's icy stare. He blushed and lowered his head out of embarrassment.

"I didn't mean to stare." Freia sighed and shook her head.

"How could you not? You are an Alchemist and I have transmutation circles on nearly every inch of my body. How could you not be interested?" Ed stared at Freia. He wanted to soak in everything about this mysterious girl. The muscles in her thighs, the bones sticking against the skin of her hips, the swell of her breasts, her beestung lips, and those empty eyes. He had to shake his head to regain composure.

"Are you alright?" Freia reached out and Ed recoiled from her touch. He didn't want too, but this girl was making him feel too many things. Freia frowned and turned away, startled by the obvious rejection. She couldn't help but feel like a monster, she looked like one. Why would a man like to feel her touch? She was a walking taboo.

Freia sighed and walked to the corner of the room where Edward noticed a box completely frozen shut. It was like the beers Freia had thrown at him earlier, but much colder. Freia kneeled to the level of the box and placed one hand on the bridge of her nose and the other on the icy surface of the box. She breathed in slowly and when she exhaled her eyes flashed and the box's icy coffin began to melt away. When the ice was a mere puddle around the trunk Freia opened it and brought out two half frozen fish and a loaf of bread.

"The bread is a little soggy but if we toast it it should be fine." Freia turned and fixed her gaze on Ed's golden eyes, they were like honey. A memory flashed through her mind, the smell of honey and flowers, a big yard with a golden dog playing with her. She shook her head and gave Ed a half smile.

"You have kind eyes Edward. That's how I knew you weren't lying." Ed looked at the girl with a shocked expression on his face. A pink blush tinged over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose as he fought for the right words to say.

"You too.." As soon as the words escaped Ed's life he mentally slapped himself. Freia inhaled sharply and looked away. It was obviously a sensitive subject and Ed had just rubbed it in her face. He prayed that Al would return soon so he could stop fucking this up as much as he was.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence Al came back into the main cavern carrying a huge amount of firewood staring at the two silent and blushing young alchemists.

Ed and Al maintained the fire and Freia cooked the fish, nothing fancy but it felt amazing in Ed's empty stomach. The conversation was slight, the tension was still high from earlier and nothing seemed to helping it. After hours of staring into the fire, Freia layed out her knapsack and gave Ed her extra blankets and a pillow. The room grew quiet as the crackles from the fire died down. Ed knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep, he was too wrapped up his thoughts. He closed his eyes quickly and pretended to sleep when he heard Freia stir and get out of her sleeping bag. He opened up one eye and watched her walk out the entrance of the cavern barefoot. Once she was out of sight, he sat up and looked to Al.

"You should follow her brother." Ed nodded at his brother in agreement and grabbed his red jacket padding after Freia.

He followed the small tunnel leading to the exit when he stopped and saw Freia's outline at the entrance, blocking the light from the moon. Her body was a perfect outline against the light, her hair pulled back in a large braid falling over one shoulder. Ed's heart was beating so loudly in his chest that he was sure the sound was the reason she turned around.

"Oh, Edward. Did I wake you? Sorry." She turned back towards the night and the desert, breathing deeply.

"Can you not sleep?" Ed approached the beautiful young woman and stood next to her.

"You could say that." Freia looked down to her bare feet and then looked up and locked eyes with Ed. "It's been a long time since I've had real human contact Edward, forgive me if I'm making a mess of it." She chuckled emptily but continued staring into those honey eyes.

Ed resisted the strong urge to reach out and touch her, just to put one finger on her smooth skin. "Freia, will you tell us what happened to you?"

Freia turned so she was face to face to Edward, shocked by his blunt question. Her eyes wavered and she studied his young handsome face, she wanted to touch his pure skin something not tainted by all the hatred in this world.

"I.." She thought for a moment, "In due time Edward. I will tell you."

"Does that mean you will come back with us?" Ed looked longingly into her face, he noticed that he was a good two inches taller than her just so she could fit perfectly into the crook of his neck. He blushed at the thought and shook it from his head.

"Come.. back with you? Back to where? Central?"

"Well, yes. Our superior knows about you aswell. But he does not want to turn you in, we want to help you Freia. I want to help you." Freia blushed and brought her eyes back to meet Ed's.

"Why would they want a monster like me back in Central?" The words escaped like poison, such a difference between her regular tone.

"You're not a monster Freia, you were a regular girl once, you still are!" Ed wanted to reach out and lift her chin but he restrained, barely.

"Regular, hmph." She scoffed and stared up at the night sky. "A regular girl wouldn't be marred like this." Her eyes lowered to the carvings in her hands and she pressed them to her chest onto the biggest circle. "I will never be able to hide these Edward. I am meant to be a weapon, not a regular girl."

The two were silent for several minutes before Freia turned and met eyes with the slightly younger boy. "Ed can I uhm.." She turned a bright red color and avoided eye contact.

"What is it?" Ed leaned closer and tried to meet her gaze.

"You'll think I'm crazy."

"Well I already think that." He winked at the slender girl and smiled.

"Can.. Can I touch you? Not too much. I just would like to see how you feel." She blushed a darker red and turned away from him clutching her red hot cheeks.

Ed thought back to Khayal clutching his face where she had touched him. He smiled and placed his hands on Freia's shoulders before giving her a big nod. Freia reached out and touched the soft skin of Ed's temple and ran down to his cheek where it was rougher from his lack of shaving. She stroked a thumb across his eyelid and ran her ring finger across his chapped lips from the dry desert. She had both hands on his collar bones when she finally drew them back and blushed deeply.

"Th-thank you Ed. I haven't really, felt another human being in a long while. You feel warm." Ed smiled softly and stared at the blushing girl. He wanted to bring her in and feel her lips on his own but he couldn't, not yet. Her touch felt like electricity coursing through his body fighting to burst out.

"I think we should get back before Al gets worried." Ed clapped on Freia's shoulder as the walked back to their napsacks.

Ed fell asleep with images of that blushing face and the tingle of where she had touched him ringing in his head.


End file.
